The Minnesota Twins head to Kauffman Stadium on Friday to take on the Kansas City Royals. The probable pitchers are Jose Berrios for the Twins and Edinson Volquez for the Royals. The opening line for this game has Minnesota at +125 and Kansas City at -135. The over/under is 8.5. The Twins have a 73-41-6 over/under mark and a 63-57-0 run line record, meaning they cover 53% of the time. The Royals are 65-55-0 against the run line and have a 50-64-6 over/under record. They cover the spread 54% of the time.

The Twins head into this game with a 49-71 record, and they are 24-34 on the road. Starting pitcher Jose Berrios has a 2-3 record with an ERA of 9.32 and a WHIP of 1.89. He has 30 strikeouts during his 28 innings pitched and he has given up 39 hits so far this year. He has surrendered 12.5 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 5.97. The bullpen this season has an earned run average of 4.27 and they have allowed 431 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .266 against the pen while they've been struck out 385 times and walked 130 times this year. As a unit, Minnesota has given up 10.08 base hits per nine innings while striking out 7.36 hitters per nine. They are 27th in the Majors in team earned run average at 4.89. The Twins pitchers have collectively given up 1,195 base hits and 580 earned runs. They have allowed 164 home runs this season and they allow 1.4 homers per nine innings as a staff. Minnesota as a pitching staff has walked 315 batters and struck out 873. They walk 2.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.42 and their FIP as a unit is 4.46.

As a team, Minnesota is hitting .258, good for 12th in the league while putting together a .259 average on the road. The Twins have a .429 team slugging percentage and an OBP of .323 which is good for 15th in the league. They rank 8th in baseball with 8.97 hits per contest. Joe Mauer comes into this game hitting .284 and his on-base percentage is at .384. He has 117 hits this season along with 62 runs scored and 44 runs batted in. He's struck out 76 times and has walked 67 times. Brian Dozier is hitting .267 and he has an on-base percentage of .341. He has totaled 119 hits so far while scoring 72 runs and he's driven in 72. He has walked 46 times and has struck out 85 times. The Twins have 1,076 hits, including 222 doubles and 145 home runs. They've stolen 76 bases while they've been thrown out stealing 24 times. Minnesota has walked 384 times this season and they've struck out 1,023 times as a unit. They've left 847 men on base and have a team OPS of .753. They score 4.63 runs per contest and have scored a total of 556 runs so far this year.

Kansas City comes into this game with a 36-21 home mark and a 60-60 overall record. With an ERA of 4.95, Edinson Volquez has a 9-10 record and a 1.46 WHIP. He has 107 strikeouts over the 147.1 innings he's pitched during which he has given up 161 hits. He has allowed 9.8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.39. So far this season the bullpen has an earned run average of 3.29 and they have given up 354 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .239 against the Royals bullpen while being struck out 377 times and walking 132 times this season. As a team, Kansas City has allowed 8.63 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.22 batters per nine. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.14. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,017 base knocks and 488 earned runs so far this season. They have given up 160 home runs this year and they give up 1.4 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Kansas City as a staff has walked 374 hitters and struck out 969. They give up a walk 3.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.2 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.31 while their FIP as a staff is 4.47.

As a team, they are batting .263, good for 8th in the league while putting together a .279 average at home. The Royals hold a .398 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312 which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 7th in baseball with 8.98 hits per contest. Eric Hosmer comes into this matchup batting .274 and he has an OBP of .330. He has 125 hits this year along with 57 runs scored and 69 RBI. He's struck out 98 times and has walked on 39 occasions. Alcides Escobar is hitting .258 and he has an OBP of .286. He has collected 126 hits so far while he's scored 42 runs and drove in 33. He has earned a walk 20 times and has punched out 68 times. The Royals as a unit have 1,077 base hits, including 198 doubles and 104 homers. They have 74 stolen bases while they've been thrown out 24 times. Kansas City as a team has walked 273 times this year and they have struck out 894 times. They've had 788 men left on base and have an OPS of .709. They score 3.92 runs per game and have totaled 470 runs so far this season.

Minnesota Twins Betting Trends

The Minnesota Twins are 73-41-6 against the over/under so far this season

The Minnesota Twins are 63-57-0 against the run line so far this season

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 50-64-6 against the over/under so far this season

The Kansas City Royals are 65-55-0 against the run line so far this season

Free Play from Doc's Sports.
Take #231 Minnesota Golden
Gophers +6.5 over Georgia
Tech Yellow Jackets
(5:15p.m., Wednesday,
December 26) The Paul Johnson
era will come to an end after
this game and I do not think
he will go out with a blowout
victory. Generally team can
fare well against the option
when they have a month to
prepare for it and that will
be the case with the Golden
Gophers. Minnesota is coming
off their best game of the
season last time out beating
Wisconsin and getting back
the ax for the first time in
well over a decade. Minnesota
has covered 5 straight
nonconference games. Georgia
Tech is 1-4 ATS in their last
5 nonconference games. Take
the points in this game. Do
not miss out on Doc's Sports
Weekend card featuring picks
in basketball, hockey, &
football. Bowl Game of the
Year is coming in late
December and now is the time
to jump on board and let Doc
close out this holiday season
with a bang.Read MoreRead Less

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